Andrew Johnson Date of Birth: December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875 Terms in Office: April 15, 1865- March 3,1869 Presidential Party: Democratic Party Vice President: N/A Thesis: As a president Johnson was never a true candidate in the first place, Johnson was simply a political move by Lincoln to sway the war Democrats over to his side so that he could win the presidential election. So when Lincoln died he became one of the only individuals to become president without an inauguration. He came in by default and for this short list of reason Andrew Johnson deserves a “D”. Goals as President: Johnson’s goals as president were in actually very similar to that of his predecessor Abraham Lincoln he wanted to follow Lincoln’s example and follow through what Lincoln had planned himself. The reunification of the South and North, but among this goal he had many others mainly dealing with the reconstruction of the South some came from Lincoln’s agenda but mainly the steps that he wanted taken in the reconstruction were created from his own ambition. But, Johnson was a southerner at heart but was leading a group of people thinking in a more Northerner’s point of view which made it hard for him to sway people to follow his ambition and see his goals to completion so in this matter Johnson did not succeed in completing any of his goals at all. He also held in his heart to veto any bill that came through congress if it were in his eyes unconstitutional and because of this almost every bill passed by Congress usually was vetoed by Johnson. President and Congress: Andrew Johnson’s relationship with Congress was a shaky one from beginning to end, Johnson was hated by both the North and South at the time of his Presidency Johnson had nobody truly in his corner. Also, because of some of Johnson’s goals that he wanted to do with the reconstruction of the South went against what Congress wanted he became hated by the government he now ran he was unbending and unflinching and because of his stubbornness all of this came to a headway on February 1866, when he vetoed another bill which was made to extend the life of the Freedman’s Bureau. By March of that year Congress had began to resort to all types of devious tactics to try and impeach Johnson so that he would no longer be a burden that loomed over the progress in reconstructing the South as well as what Congress had in mind about the reconstruction and other things throughout the country so they created the Tenure of Office Act and Johnson yet again tried to veto but by this time in the year 1867 they had made things veto proof so Johnson’s veto was nullified. Johnson then attempted to get rid of the radical Republican Edwin M. Stanton, with this he went against the Tenure of Office Act which directly went against what the bill was created for and with it Johnson was impeached but lucked out and did not get impeached in which case Johnson was hated by all and had very few to no supporters of what he wanted. Johnson was often referred to as “Sir Veto” or “the dead dog of the White House”. Positive Outcomes: When looking at the outcomes that came from Johnson’s presidency I can only think of one but he did not truly play any part in it. The Fourteenth Amendment. This gave African-Americans conferred civil rights, which included citizenship, reduction of the significance of an Electoral College’s vote if it denied any blacks ballot, and guaranteed a federal debt and in ignored all Confederate debts. Also a follow on this to fill in the holes was the Fifteenth Amendment which solidified everything said in the 14th in stone. Also in his acquisition of Alaska as a business venture move to keep Russia as a faithful ally in the years to come. Negative Outcomes: Some of the negative outcomes that came from Johnson’s presidency could go on forever but some of the more important and controversial decisions by Johnson is the role he played in the created of the 14th and 15th Amendment in which he vetoed the and attempted to stop African-Americans from getting closer recognition and say in government which a republican Congress obviously wanted. But as Johnson’s fight with Congress began to drag on he began to make mistakes because of his inept speech making people began to say “Stand by Congress” against the “Tailor of the Potomac” his reputation as the “Drunken Tailor began to return” Johnson had been virtually neutralized by his own government making his decisions mean nothing. Effect on Future: If Johnson did anything to effect the future it’s simply that he acquired Alaska from our friendly other super power Russia he acquired Alaska for the U.S. in which we showed that we were true friends to Russia and were willing to do them a favor. Also in acquire Alaska throughout the years more and more discoveries have been found proving that acquiring Alaska turned out to not just be a political move but an excellent decision for hidden in Alaska there was various raw materials there and oil that made it a very valuable purchase in the end. Conclusion: Andrew Johnson is considered one of the presidents in American history and for good reason Johnson was a stubborn man and because of how close minded he was he vetoed seemingly every bill Congress produced making them hate him because he was slowing down the reconstruction progress which was a major reason why he deserves a “D” he did not handle things the way they should be handle and overall was a close minded man who came into the presidency at the wrong time and for that he paid for it. Works Cited 1865, the time Congress met in December, most southern states were reconstructed, and slavery was being abolished. "Andrew Johnson | The White House." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/andrewjohnson. "American President: Andrew Johnson." Miller Center of Public Affairs. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/johnson. "Andrew Johnson." State Library of North Carolina. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/NC/BIO/public/JOHNSON.HTM. "Andrew Johnson." The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://www.andrewjohnson.com/11BiographiesKeyIndividuals/AndrewJohnson.htm.
Date of Birth: December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875
Terms in Office: April 15, 1865- March 3,1869
Presidential Party: Democratic Party
Vice President: N/A
Thesis:
As a president Johnson was never a true candidate in the first place, Johnson was simply a political move by Lincoln to sway the war Democrats over to his side so that he could win the presidential election. So when Lincoln died he became one of the only individuals to become president without an inauguration. He came in by default and for this short list of reason Andrew Johnson deserves a “D”.
Goals as President:
Johnson’s goals as president were in actually very similar to that of his predecessor Abraham Lincoln he wanted to follow Lincoln’s example and follow through what Lincoln had planned himself. The reunification of the South and North, but among this goal he had many others mainly dealing with the reconstruction of the South some came from Lincoln’s agenda but mainly the steps that he wanted taken in the reconstruction were created from his own ambition. But, Johnson was a southerner at heart but was leading a group of people thinking in a more Northerner’s point of view which made it hard for him to sway people to follow his ambition and see his goals to completion so in this matter Johnson did not succeed in completing any of his goals at all. He also held in his heart to veto any bill that came through congress if it were in his eyes unconstitutional and because of this almost every bill passed by Congress usually was vetoed by Johnson.
President and Congress:
Andrew Johnson’s relationship with Congress was a shaky one from beginning to end, Johnson was hated by both the North and South at the time of his Presidency Johnson had nobody truly in his corner. Also, because of some of Johnson’s goals that he wanted to do with the reconstruction of the South went against what Congress wanted he became hated by the government he now ran he was unbending and unflinching and because of his stubbornness all of this came to a headway on February 1866, when he vetoed another bill which was made to extend the life of the Freedman’s Bureau. By March of that year Congress had began to resort to all types of devious tactics to try and impeach Johnson so that he would no longer be a burden that loomed over the progress in reconstructing the South as well as what Congress had in mind about the reconstruction and other things throughout the country so they created the Tenure of Office Act and Johnson yet again tried to veto but by this time in the year 1867 they had made things veto proof so Johnson’s veto was nullified. Johnson then attempted to get rid of the radical Republican Edwin M. Stanton, with this he went against the Tenure of Office Act which directly went against what the bill was created for and with it Johnson was impeached but lucked out and did not get impeached in which case Johnson was hated by all and had very few to no supporters of what he wanted. Johnson was often referred to as “Sir Veto” or “the dead dog of the White House”.
Positive Outcomes:
When looking at the outcomes that came from Johnson’s presidency I can only think of one but he did not truly play any part in it. The Fourteenth Amendment. This gave African-Americans conferred civil rights, which included citizenship, reduction of the significance of an Electoral College’s vote if it denied any blacks ballot, and guaranteed a federal debt and in ignored all Confederate debts. Also a follow on this to fill in the holes was the Fifteenth Amendment which solidified everything said in the 14th in stone. Also in his acquisition of Alaska as a business venture move to keep Russia as a faithful ally in the years to come.
Negative Outcomes:
Some of the negative outcomes that came from Johnson’s presidency could go on forever but some of the more important and controversial decisions by Johnson is the role he played in the created of the 14th and 15th Amendment in which he vetoed the and attempted to stop African-Americans from getting closer recognition and say in government which a republican Congress obviously wanted. But as Johnson’s fight with Congress began to drag on he began to make mistakes because of his inept speech making people began to say “Stand by Congress” against the “Tailor of the Potomac” his reputation as the “Drunken Tailor began to return” Johnson had been virtually neutralized by his own government making his decisions mean nothing.
Effect on Future:
If Johnson did anything to effect the future it’s simply that he acquired Alaska from our friendly other super power Russia he acquired Alaska for the U.S. in which we showed that we were true friends to Russia and were willing to do them a favor. Also in acquire Alaska throughout the years more and more discoveries have been found proving that acquiring Alaska turned out to not just be a political move but an excellent decision for hidden in Alaska there was various raw materials there and oil that made it a very valuable purchase in the end.
Conclusion:
Andrew Johnson is considered one of the presidents in American history and for good reason Johnson was a stubborn man and because of how close minded he was he vetoed seemingly every bill Congress produced making them hate him because he was slowing down the reconstruction progress which was a major reason why he deserves a “D” he did not handle things the way they should be handle and overall was a close minded man who came into the presidency at the wrong time and for that he paid for it.
Works Cited
1865, the time Congress met in December, most southern states were reconstructed, and slavery was being abolished. "Andrew Johnson | The White House." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/andrewjohnson.
"American President: Andrew Johnson." Miller Center of Public Affairs. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/johnson.
"Andrew Johnson." State Library of North Carolina. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/NC/BIO/public/JOHNSON.HTM.
"Andrew Johnson." The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. http://www.andrewjohnson.com/11BiographiesKeyIndividuals/AndrewJohnson.htm.